Art of Client Service

With brevity, levity, and clarity, Robert Solomon, a well-respected advertising executive, has written a definitive and practical resource for advertising and marketing account executives. Writers, planners, researchers, and production supervisors will benefit as well from his down-to-earth advice on the care and feeding of the advertising client. Account management is more art than science, requiring a wide-ranging arsenal of talents and skills. At times acting as psychologist, orchestra conductor, or lion tamer, the advertising account executive must be creative and versatile enough to develop top-notch strategy, and also graceful enough to nag, persuade, rebuff, and inform-all in a constructive way. Distilling decades of experience, Solomon has compiled a fast-reading, actionable checklist of 54 essential ideas to help advertising professionals merge all these account management skills. The Art of Client Service is geared to the entire account team: writer, art director, planner, researcher, media executive, producer, and support staff-anyone who works with clients. Each of Solomon's 54 tips deals with a specific issue that an account manager will undoubtedly encounter when dealing with a client. The answers and insights Solomon provides are grounded with wit, common sense, and the wisdom that comes from years of hands-on experience. Readers will learn: *The prescriptions for great account work *The steps to take at the start of any assignment *How to write a strategy brief *What makes great creative *Do's and don'ts in client presentations *The elements of a good meeting *How to "package" themselves Also included is a well-edited, annotated, and definitive reading list for agency account executives.